4+ day, 4+ hour ago  (140+ words) Brown violetear (Colibri delphinae). An aggressive species that zealously defends its nectar sources: The copper-rumped hummingbird (Saucerottia tobaci) is the most common hummingbird on both islands. An individual amused me over several days as it vigorously defended three feeders from…...

6+ day, 14+ min ago  (228+ words) It was a rough morning on Botany Pond. Two undocumented drakes invaded this morning, and I must have spent 45 minutes chasing them around with my squirt gun. They would leave (along with Armon, who always returns), but then come back…...

6+ day, 59+ min ago  (305+ words) As always, an Aussie who wishes to remain anonymous sent me this link, and noted that New Zealand isn't the only country in the Antipodes that tries to make science (again "Western science) coequal with indigenous knowledge." Clicking on the…...

1+ week, 3+ hour ago  (732+ words) Please allow me to show you pictures of my children, which this year comprise a pair of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and a pair of wood ducks (Aix sponsa). The latter don't seem to be breeding here as they're on the…...

3+ week, 14+ min ago  (415+ words) Why Evolution Is True I've often criticized Colossal Biosciences for their overblown science, which includes pretending that they've resurrected the dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus), when they've only created grey wolves (Canis lupus) with a few gene edits that make them…...

3+ week, 1+ day ago  (475+ words) It's time for a duck report." Things have been erratic, duckwise, over the last couple of weeks, with the weather going nuts. On some days it's been 70 F (21 C), on others it's been below freezing, with snow or driving rain." Through…...

4+ week, 1+ hour ago  (503+ words) We had an unexpected snowstorm last night, dropping less than an inch but still covering the ground, as it's below freezing. Fortunately the weather has warmed up today. Armon and Vashti were starving this morning because of the cold, and…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago  (661+ words) Sure enough, there was a pair of mallards at the far (south) end." Moreover, then swam near me when I whistled, though they didn't come right up to me. This suggests that these are the mallards knew me, though, based…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago  (148+ words) Why Evolution Is True There: I"ve fired my last shot. But here are three other shots, but not from readers but from the Proprietor (PCC[E]). They were taken last July in Svalbard. They show a pile of about…...

2+ mon, 3+ day ago  (764+ words) Why Evolution Is True As superlatives go, it would be difficult to beat the South African Platland Baobab [Adansonia digitata]. Its 10. 6-m diameter trunk was large enough to accommodate a bar inside its hollow trunk. The massive tree, now deceased,…...